Travel Tip: Pop Culture and Cinema in EnglandFranco Battiato

Franco BattiatoENGLANDLONDON • Barbican Hall • Ongoing

Italy's leading pop experimentalist presents his new album, Apriti Sesamo.

Franco Battiato's lyrics, full of exotic and cultural references, attack the ignorance and lack of political values, not only of politicians, but of the Italian society as a whole. In 1992, his song “Povera Patria” became a revolutionary anthem denouncing the murders of the judges Falcone and Borsellino by the Mafia.

In November 2012, upon being appointed Regional Councillor for Culture in Sicily, a post he has refused to be paid for, Battiato said: 'It's time to commit to my land but the word councillor offends me, I prefer to be called Franco. I can not and I do not want to change trades. I do not want to have to deal with politicians and I want to be free to organize events that link Sicily with the rest of the world.'

His new album, Apriti Sesamo, one of his most successful and happiest pieces of work, condenses the musical and artistic journey of a lifetime.